Prevention and treatment of cardiomyopathy in Scottish Fold cats, common diseases in Fold cats! Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in Scottish Fold cats often strikes suddenly without warning. In order to save the cat’s life, doctors must rush to treat the cat with symptomatic treatment to stabilize the cat. Wait until the vital signs are more stable before considering the diagnosis; if the diagnostic procedure is ignored, the cat may die during the process. Cat parents are advised to establish a concept in advance and trust that the doctor will make the correct treatment.

Fold-eared cats

Cardiovascular disease is often a killer that suddenly takes away the life of animals. Many owners often wonder why seemingly healthy cats die suddenly, and it usually occurs in urgent situations. After the situation, such as a strange child chasing a cat, mild anesthesia, bathing and beauty treatment, the sound of firecrackers during the New Year, or medically necessary restraint actions, etc. Doctors usually first suspect the possibility of cardiovascular disease, and the most common heart disease in cats is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which usually occurs in male cats and middle-aged to elderly cats. Persian cats may have a predisposition to it.

Affected cats may not have any symptoms when they are not sick. Once they become sick, they may have symptoms of heart failure, and/or thromboembolism, or even sudden death. Common symptoms seen by pet owners include acute onset of difficulty breathing, lethargy, anorexia, depression, inactivity, and reluctance to move. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy may also cause thromboembolism, causing sudden paralysis of the hind limbs and incessant howling in pain.

In clinical practice, we often hear owners say: Our cat was fine, but it died in the morning. Or the cat suddenly dies while taking a bath in a beauty salon. Some cats suddenly develop heart failure and die during anesthesia or surgery. This is the terrible thing about feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. There may not be any clinical symptoms before. After the cat is stressed, , such as anesthesia, surgery, Baoding, bathing, fright, etc., may cause acute heart failure and sudden death.

Clinical veterinarians are also frightened when encountering such cases, because any stimulation may cause tachycardia and acute cardiogenic shock, but if left untreated, the cat will also survive. No, and diagnosis is necessary. How to determine the appropriateness depends on the doctor's experience and clinical judgment. When necessary, the doctor will also give a very small amount of sedatives to help the cat calm down.

If a cat has symptoms of dyspnea, active diagnostic procedures are generally not carried out first. The cat will be kept in an oxygen therapy cage first and wait until his breathing is more stable and his blood color is better. A chest X-ray should be taken; if possible, an intravenous indwelling needle should also be installed and connected to an appropriate drip as a route of emergency administration. Doctors may see general cardiac enlargement or bilateral atrium enlargement, pulmonary venous distension, pulmonary artery enlargement, pulmonary edema, and possible pleural effusion on X-rays, but the heart size may also be normal or typical. If pulmonary edema occurs, the doctor will give drugs to relieve the symptoms of pulmonary edema; if pleural effusion occurs, thoracentesis may be required to remove the pleural effusion.

If your cat’s breathing rate continuesAfter the heart rate decreases and stabilizes, the doctor may perform a cardiac ultrasound scan, which may reveal atrium enlargement, ventricular diaphragm thickening and/or left ventricular freewall thickening, and papillary muscle hypertrophy. It's a complete diagnosis. Therefore, the treatment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in cats is to first provide symptomatic treatment to stabilize the cat, and then consider confirming the diagnosis after stabilization. If these diagnostic procedures are rushed, most cats will die during the diagnosis process.

Feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can be divided into primary and secondary. Primary refers to myocardial hypertrophy without any other causes, mostly related to genetics; secondary hypertrophic myocardium The disease is caused by hyperthyroidism, so once the cat is stable, a thyroid function test should be performed to determine whether it is primary or secondary hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Secondary hypertrophic cardiomyopathy has a better prognosis. If the stimulation of the thyroid gland is properly controlled, the myocardial hypertrophy can be slightly alleviated and prevent the myocardium from continuing to hypertrophy. If hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is primary or complicated by thromboembolism, the prognosis is poor, but some cats can survive up to three years after diagnosis. If the cat is lucky enough to survive the acute attack, it must continue to take medication for control and undergo regular follow-up visits for evaluation. At the same time, unnecessary urgency should be avoided.

Based on the clinical experience in treating hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, most of the cats with the disease will die on the day of first aid. Most of the cats that survive are discovered during early health examinations or are born with the condition. A gentle and less nervous cat.

Pet Cat Network reminds everyone that the early diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy seems to be the focus of treatment. Regular annual complete health examinations may be able to detect hypertrophic cardiomyopathy early. Doctors can judge whether the heart is enlarged based on chest symptoms, you must seek medical attention immediately to rule out the possibility of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. For cats over 4 years old, thyroid function testing must be a priority, and the offspring of affected cats should also be closely monitored. After all, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy may be hereditary.